The End and a Beginning

I say this every three weeks, I can’t believe it went by so fast. Last night was my final day of interning at the Jean Georges pastry kitchen. However, it was not my final day there. I’ll be returning as often as I can on weekends until November, when I will begin my externship there!

I have to say, the last week of internship was extremely exciting. The dessert menu (and savory menu) are very seasonally driven. With this in mind, Chef Iuzzini had been brainstorming ideas for a summer tasting menu. Over the last week or so, after the daily production was done, we would assist him in executing new ideas. I don’t know how long Chef thinks up ideas before the start of trials, but it was amazing how quickly it seemed to fall into place. In a matter of days, several items were produced, tweaked, and presented to the big, big guy for final approval. What surprised me more, was after approval, we were scrambling to have items ready to launch the next day! While this resulted in my last two days being about 14 hours long, it was thrilling and adrenaline inducing. Time just flies by for me there.

Time in general flew by while I was in the city. I’m a bit enchanted with it here. I can’t wait to come back in a few months and experience it in full holiday season, both in the pastry kitchen and the little free time I will get. However, I am equally excited to return to the Culinary Institute to start my next block of classes: baking techniques. I’m also excited to see all of my foodie friends!

One last thing I’m excited for…lunch at Jean Georges tomorrow with a friend from school before heading “home” to really head home.